Ming–Qing Ritual-Based Society under the Influence of Zhu Xi’s Doctrineof Ritual: The Dimension of Outer Kingliness in Neo-Confucianism

Liu Yiping

Abstract： Pre-modern Chinese ritual education was modeled on Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual. Zhus doctrine was a practical system oriented toward ordinary people， and it shaped Ming and Qing ritual-based society along two different tracks： social functioning and personal practice. Zhus Familial Rites， the Revised Lüs Village Conventions， and variations on these texts constructed a whole set of social etiquette and norms for conduct， serving as the principal basis for the organization of ordinary society. His Primary Learning and What Children Must Know occupied the highest position of etiquette and self-cultivation in elementary education， promoting the integrative development of education of both the elite and ordinary folk. The key role played by Zhus doctrine of ritual in both organizing society and educating the populace represents the extension of the idea of Confucian “outer kingliness” from the political to the social dimension. This finding poses a challenge to such popular opinions that Song–Ming Neo-Confucianism valued inner more than outer cultivation， and that there was a marked inward turn of Chinese culture in the Song dynasty.

Keywords： Zhu Xi， doctrine of ritual， ritual-based society， internalization

Qian Mu 錢穆 （1895–1990） once said， “Since the Eastern Han （25–220）， powerful families of intelligentsia rose. From the Wei （220–265）， Jin （265–420）， and Southern and Northern （420–589） to the Sui （581–618） and Tang （618–907） dynasties， a predominance of such families remained prevalent in society， which was a varied form of the more ancient aristocratic society. The Song dynasty （960–1127） witnessed the process of changing into a society without an elite.” In response to the radical social change and reform in the Tang and Song dynasties， the Confucian pursuit of ritual （li 礼） underwent significant changes too. During the period from the Wei down to Tang， Confucian scholars regarded Zheng Xuan 郑玄 （127–200） as the founder of ritual study. Their scholarly efforts centered on making annotations and commentaries of the Rites of Ceremony [仪礼]， the Rites of Zhou [周礼]， and the Book of Rites， and their practice of ritual was based on a society controlled by influential families. Therefore， in essence， their study of ritual was a textual research project， oriented toward an aristocratic society. Since the Song， many distinguished officials and Confucians made efforts to construct family rites， that is， rites and etiquettes for daily life， to meet the requirements of ordinary people. Therefore， it can be said that this period saw a turn toward the study of practical ritual and conducting rites oriented toward lower levels of society.

Over the centuries after the Song dynasty， Chinese pre-modern ritual education was modeled on Zhu Xis 朱熹 （1130–1200） doctrine of ritual. Particularly， in the Ming （1368–1644） and Qing （1644–1911） dynasties， Zhus doctrine dominated official ideology. His Commentaries and Interpretations of the Four Booksi [四書章句集注] was read in every family and his Familial Rites [家礼] was collected into the Collected Rites of the Ming [明集礼]， which became an integral part of the official ideology in the Ming dynasty. More importantly， a creative process of ritualizing society from the middle and late Ming till 1930s， on the basis of Zhus Familial Rites， Revised Lüs Village Conventions [增损吕氏乡约]， Primary Learning [小学]， and What Children Must Know [童蒙须知]. This process continued， under the joint impetus of the government and gentry groups， “with the intelligentsia as the dominant factor， schools as the center， conducting rites as the goal， and ordinary folk as the target.” It is in this project that Zhus doctrine of ritual began to alter from an integral part of the official ideology to an applied ideology and practice. Even the rural construction movement driven by Liang Shuming 梁漱溟 （1893–1988）， from the socio-cultural point of view， could be seen as the final continuation of that project. One aim of the ritual project oriented toward ordinary folk was “to make arrangements in regard to ethics and status， so as to organize society，” and the other was “to set up ritual and music as well as rules of etiquette， to cultivate principles （li 理） and nature （xing 性）.” The former was intended to popularize rites as social customs， and as an order known to and obeyed by the general public， while the latter was intended to encourage the practice of ritual as a means of self-cultivation and pursuit of virtue that was applicable to all people. Therefore， social functioning and personal practice were the two main paths by which Zhus doctrine of ritual exerted influence on the ritual-based society of the Ming and Qing.

Social Functioning of Ritual and Construction of Social Order

[Refer to page 51 for Chinese. Similarly hereinafter]

Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual is not a purely speculative philosophy. When he established the Four Books， he prioritized the Great Learning as the first one of them， and this indicates that his Neo-Confucianism wanted to see the ideal of outer kingliness used to regulate the family， rule the state well， and finally bring peace to the world. Included in this ideal were not only the political goals of the court， where one aims for beautiful governmentii but also the requirement for officials out of office， where one pursues beautiful customs （i.e.， establishing a whole system of appropriate social order）. Two essential points had to be satisfied in this latter ideal. First， changes were required in response to the historical trend of the increasing decentralization of power in society since the Song dynasty， and the social turn from the Tang family pattern to the Song family pattern. Efforts had to be made to construct simplified rites oriented toward ordinary society instead of the rites prevalent only amongst the previously powerful aristocracy， so as to stabilize the familial ethical structure. Second， targeting the clan and village， although these two areas usually overlapped in practical application. Governing over the family， efforts must be made to construct a whole system of associating etiquette and conduct rules， then such rules were implemented across society， so as to realize orderly governance of ordinary folk. Zhus Familial Rites and Revised Lüs Village Conventions represented the efforts he made in these two respects.

Familial Rites is an unfinished work of Zhu Xis， who spent much effort on it. At the age of seventeen， Zhu “made textual research of the different sacrificial rites advocated by predecessors and completed Textual Research and Compilation of Preceding Sacrificial Rites [諸家祭礼考编]”; Later， he compiled Sacrificial Rites [祭礼] and revised it twice， and then “he extended it to the capping and marrying ceremonies and compiled them together into one book”; Finally， he set up the four systems of capping， marrying， sacrificing， and mourning ceremonies. These efforts took him thirty years to complete. In the process， Zhu drew extensively on the doctrines of ritual proposed by Cheng Yi 程颐 （1033–1107） and other predecessors and on the ritual customs of his own time and the experience of conducting rites in his own family， which he discussed repeatedly with his contemporaries， well-known Confucians such as Zhang Shi 张栻 （1133–1180）， Lü Zuqian 吕祖谦 （1137–1181）， and Wang Yingchen 汪应辰 （1118–1176）， as well as some disciples of his， such as Lin Yongzhong 林用中 （fl. 1167–1196） and Chen Dan 陈旦 （1122–1180）， before he finished compiling his Familial Rites. Unfortunately， during a visit to a Buddhist temple， his manuscript was stolen by a young monk， and since then， Zhu Xi never recompiled the work. It was not until Zhu passed away that “a scholar， who had got a handwritten copy of that manuscript somewhere， came with it on the day of Zhus funeral.” After that， the copy was engraved and began to spread widely. Though the work could not be said to be perfect， due to the later consecration of Zhu Xi and his doctrine being incorporated into the official ideology， the text was treated as a new classic of pre-modern ritual education. During these centuries， under the joint promotion of the government and gentry， its influence went beyond a small number of families in pursuit of Neo-Confucianism and spread to the extent that it became the principal basis for organizing folk society in both Ming and Qing dynasties.

Under the effect of Familial Rites， Ming and Qing society was shaped into a ritual-based one with unity in diversity， which was bound together by the rituals commonly practiced by both gentry and common folk. Unity refers to how Familial Rites was a care text that provided a basic model for familial ethics and folk custom. Diversity means that， in practice， Familial Rites competed and interacted repeatedly with other factors such as culture （including Buddhism， Daoism， and later Christianity which was introduced into China）， local conditions， regional differences， social mores， and economic factors， all of which brought about various different realizations of the key principles. Following Zhus guiding principle of simplicity and feasibility in practicing rites， Ming and Qing Confucians deleted some of the lengthy and jumbled details and complemented the essentials by current conventions， thus producing many annotated， abbreviated， and popular editions of Familial Rites， which taught people to conduct rites choosing to abide either completely or partially by the original work. This is an indication of the etiquette and custom pattern with unity in diversity.

Take the capping ceremony for example. After Familial Rites became popular during the period of Wanli （1573–1620） in the Ming dynasty， the ceremonial custom practiced in Wanping County （in modern Beijing） went like this：

（For the capping ceremony，） there is usually nothing special conducted by families except those of scholar–officials. But on a wedding occasion， the bridegrooms family sends someone to make the topknot for the bride and the brides family sends someone to put the headdress on the bridegroom. . . . This is particularly indicative of antiquity.

Three hundred years later， this custom was still observed in the Fujian–Taiwan region， where before fetching his bride， a bridegroom would undergo a ritual setting of his new headdress， and before seeing the groom， the bride would also hold a ritual and make her new topknot. Another example is the funeral and sacrificial rites. These rites were disturbed quite seriously by Buddhist and Daoist beliefs since the Tang and Song periods. After Familial Rites was widely practiced in the Ming and Qing dynasties， a comprehensive system of ritual custom was developed， which was based on the Confucian doctrine of ritual and took in elements from various other doctrines. For example， the practices of choosing an “auspicious” day and place for holding a funeral， and mourning the deceased and seeking blessing by burning ghost money on the Ghost Festival clearly resulted from the influence of the yin–yang doctrine and geomancy as well as from Buddhism and Daoism， but still the core parts of these rites were carried out in a Confucian style. In his novel “Blessing” [祝福]， famous modern Chinese writer Lu Xun 魯迅 （1881–1936）， recorded details of sacrificial rites conducted in the area of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces during the late Qing and the Republic of China （1911–1945）. According to his writings， on the day before offering sacrifices， women made preparations such as washing the sacrificial vessels and preparing the sacrificial offerings， which is similar to preparations such as “washing vessels” and “preparing food” as described in Familial Rites. On the sacrificial day， the offerings would be displayed in the fifth watch of the night，iii which is similar to what is described in Familial Rites， which states that “in the early morning on the sacrificial day， fruits and vegetables， food and wine， would be laid out . . . the housewife would put on a vesture， cook all the food extremely hot and display it with boxes.” Under Lus pen， only men participated in worshiping the god of blessings， but according to Familial Rites， both men and women would join in performing sacrifices. This is perhaps because the former was a folk custom. In brief， when everyday folk put Familial Rites into practice， their ways varied more or less from what was given in the text， not completely conforming to it， but with Familial Rites “merged into more and more family genealogy books and clan conventions in a disguised form，” or “compiled into books for daily use so as to transform folk custom，” the daily life of common folk were effectively and broadly influenced by Zhus Familial Rites.

The practice of village conventions in the Ming and Qing dynasties also showed signs of unity in diversity. It is true that the earliest source of village conventions dates back to the institutional design stated in the Rites of Zhou for ruling and humanizing people， but historically their near source is Zhu Xis Revised Lüs Village Conventions. The original author of the work was Lü Dajun 呂大钧 （1029–1080） and it appeared soon before the Northern Song perished and did not spread widely， exerting only a very limited influence. After Zhu discovered the work， he revised it mainly by expanding its content concerned with the interaction between rites and customs， and focused more heavily on how to realize moral education through village conventions. Thus， the revised work was seen by later generations as a source of local moral force， which lay at the core of this system， together with the political neighborhood administrative system， the educational government run primary schools， and the economic village storehouses， constituted a rural governance system with the multiple functions of maintaining public security， educating， and giving relief aid. As a type of bottom-up self-made convenance， the village convention advocated by Lü Dajun and Zhu Xi displays the spirit of community autonomy and moral education， embodying the view of sociocultural integration shared among Confucian scholar–officials. In its organization， the country gentry always played a dominant role， and after such a convention was established among the families in a village， all these families and their family members obeyed it， without exception.

When the Ming and Qing dynasty Confucian scholar–officials popularized village conventions， which stood in the face of various local folk customs which might be diametrically opposed to them， they made necessary modifications and thus brought about diversified means of governance. The dominant forces driving their establishment， the contents of their provisions， their periods of validity， and the severity of their rules were so different that it is very hard for historians to make an overall generalization. Particularly， after the middle of the Ming dynasty， the government stepped in and saw village conventions as an effective means by which to rectify officialdom and control local authorities. Consequently， it became a product of the ordinary folk， under the supervision of the government. An example illustrating this change is Wang Yangmings 王阳明 （1472–1528） “Southern Jiangxi Village Convention” [南赣乡约]. Furthermore， after the Shunzhi reign （1644–1661） in the Qing dynasty， village conventions were transformed into a grass-roots organizations which the government used to administer and restrain localities directly， and there emerged even the tendency to militarize them. Despite this， in the 1920s to 1930s， Liang Shuming， the figure who dominated the rural construction movement in modern China， put forth two tasks， namely self-government and education， and thereby strove to develop a new ritual system and remold the entire Chinese society. Liangs theory and practice of rural construction inherited the basic spirit of traditional village conventions which were seen as the result of restoring and reforming the spirit of village conventions advocated by Lü Dajun and Zhu Xi.

Personal Practice of Ritual and Moral Education of

Ordinary People [54]

As far as its etymology and exegetics are concerned， the Chinese character li 礼 itself has a strong sense of practicality. As Zheng Xuan said， “li has two meanings： like the body， governed by the mind， and like the shoe， that conducts it.” With a view to the Song society， Zhu Xi inherited the idea of the Great Learning that “from the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people， all must consider self-cultivation as the root of everything，” and creatively opened a widely applicable and practical approach to the moral education of ordinary people， which is reflected in some works by him such as Primary Learning and What Children Must Know.

Zhu divided moral education into two stages： primary learning and great learning. “When reaching the age of eight， all children， ranging from those of princes and dukes down to those of common families， entered schools for primary learning，” where they were taught the rules of sprinkling and sweeping the ground， answering and replying， and advancing and withdrawing， and the arts of ritual and music， archery， driving a chariot， writing， and mathematics.” This primary learning was an elementary education centered on performing acts or conducting rites and was also a popular part of an individuals education regardless of their social status. “When reaching the age of fifteen， the eldest son of the Son of Heaven by his proper queen and his other sons， the sons of dukes， ministers， senior officials， and chief officials by their proper wives， and the excellent sons from the common families， all entered the Imperial College，” where they were taught the way of “inquiring the principle to the utmost （窮理）， rectifying the mind （正心）， cultivating oneself （修己）， and ruling the people （治人）.” This great learning was both an adult education with the Way （dao 道） or principles as its core， it was an elite education in the sense of social status and at an intellectual level. In either sense， the great learning must be based on the primary learning.

In olden times， the primary learning was aimed to teach children the rules of sprinkling water and sweeping the ground， answering and replying， advancing and withdrawing， and the principles of loving their parents， respecting their elder brothers， esteeming their teachers， and treating friends with amiability， all of which constituted the basis for cultivating oneself， regulating the family （齐家）， ruling the state well （治国）， and bringing peace to the world （平天下）.

This means that it was ritual， in fact， that constituted the starting point of all efforts for self-cultivation and the central task of education. On the other hand， Zhu also emphasized that “Despite the difference between the primary and the great learning， the Way of pursuing them are the same.” Ritual represented not only the method of dealing with the young and un-educated， encouraging correct behavior （or the nature belonging to them） but the Way of studying from the basics and applying the principles upward as well. In the study and practice of ritual， one could start from the rules of sprinkling water and sweeping the ground， and answering and replying， thereby accumulating solemnity （居敬） and inquiring into the principles to the utmost， and ultimately attain the realm of sagehood—all these efforts were brought about by ritual.

The Ming and Qing elementary education （including private schools， community-run schools charging no tuition， and village schools） was deeply influenced by Zhu Xis ideas of primary learning. The targets of these schools were children， teenagers who were older yet lower in literacy， and even young adults. The central tasks of their education were two： one was literacy and the other was to foster their character and emotions， centered on how to behave according to rites and etiquettes. In fact， these two educational aims often shared the same teaching materials and system of values. The primers used， represented by Three-Character Classic [三字经]， Book of Family Names [百家姓]， Thousand-Character Classic [千字文]， Thousand Masters Poems [千家诗]， and Childrens Knowledge Treasury [幼学琼林] were all texts rich in literary style and knowledge， and behavioral guidelines for ethics and rites. Furthermore， the education in etiquette was mainly aimed at standardizing the behavior of individuals， which showed directly the characteristic of elementary education with an emphasis on ritual. On the first day when the students started their schooling， their tutor would make clear to them the bottom line for their behaviors was to restrain their body and mind so that they would strictly avoid any behavior that ran against the ritual requirements. On this basis， the students would be instructed in regard to the manners of dressing， eating， sitting， and reposing， and the rules over how to bow to and salute their elders with courtesy， how to arrange themselves while standing and sitting， and how to behave according to table etiquette. All these， obviously， corresponded to the requirements of Zhus What Children Must Know in its entries of “Clothing， Capping， and Wearing Shoes” [衣服冠履]， “Speaking and Walking” [語言步趋]， “Sprinkling， Sweeping， and Cleaning” [洒扫涓洁]， “Reading and Writing” [读书为文字]， and “Miscellaneous Matters” [杂细事宜] and to the entry of “Paying Respects” [敬身] in his Primary Learning. Therefore， the children， from the moment they reached the age where they wore their hair bound and began schooling， were already under the influence of Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual.

Once the students had made some progress in literacy， their tutor would teach them Zhus Commentaries and Interpretations of the Four Books. It was through this work that his Neo-Confucian thoughts of ritual， including his discourse on the original substance of Heavenly principle underlying ritual， his clarification of the original substance of human nature and principle， and his interlinking what was meant by principle and matters， substance and function， internal and external， and effort for self-cultivation， respectively， grew widespread and exerted a profound impact on people. After finishing the Four Books based education， a small number of students pursuing scholarly honor or official rank would go on to study the Five Classicsiv and undergo training in writing eight-legged essays （八股文） in a stylized format. Most of the students would， after being educated for three or five years， turn to various lines of business-like farming and trading so as to make a living. For these students， their tutors would teach them practical knowledge and skills such as reading commonly used characters， handwriting， simple arithmetic， and writing for practical purposes so that they would be able to deal with future matters such as leasing， borrowing， weddings， and funerals. Nonetheless， with regard to ritual education， there was no difference between commoners and the upcoming elites as a result of their different future position and occupation.

As mentioned above， the students all lived in the same society established on the principle of propriety and righteousness. For ordinary people to win respect from their clans and fellow villagers， they only needed to obey the basic rules of etiquette and custom when dealing with such daily matters as weddings and funerals， ceremonies for the four seasons and eight solar terms， and receiving guests and dealing with other matters. If one could participate in establishing and improving the ritual-based order with a more active attitude and a stricter moral position， he would be seen as having a strong sense of social responsibility. That is why when scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties were commended for their firm belief in Confucianism， they would be described as being able to follow Zhus Familial Rites strictly in dealing with funerary and sacrificial matters. Thanks to their exposure to word of mouth and social custom， even illiterate people who had not received an education could be transformed under the influence of Zhus doctrine of ritual. Both the elite and ordinary folk were subject to the same principle， in the sense of the national ideology and its application—rule by ritual， and in the sense of putting the ideology into practice， they acted as both the formulators and safeguards of the rites. Thus， the general education in the Ming and Qing dynasties was able to uphold the ancient ideal of Confucius and Mencius that， “with education， there was no distinction between classes of men” （Analects， 15：39） and “everyone may be a Yao or a Shun”v （Mencius， 6B：22） and inherit Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual and the ritual system he had constructed. In this way， the barrier between common and elite in social status was broken through， and the integrative development of education of both the elite and ordinary folk was promoted.

Even Wang Yangming， who advocated intuitive knowledge innate in humankind， and has been seen as an opponent to Zhu Xi， highly approved of the basic spirit of Zhus doctrine of ritual and his advocacy of promoting ritual through elementary （common） education and social organization. As regards the education of ordinary people， Wang said， “ancient education taught human relations.” He took the practice of ritual as the first step for making any self-cultivation effort， and treating it as one of the three specific tasks of elementary education， the other two being reciting poems and reading books. He was emphatic that， besides the function of standardizing and restraining， the practice of ritual was conducive to shaping a moral person in line with the Confucian ideal， through various aspects such as volition， emotion， knowledge， body， moral practice， and values. As regards social organization， though Wangs “Southern Jiangxi Village Convention” already indicates his inheritance of Zhus thought of rule by ritual， his more definite opinion can be known from his conversations with his disciples. When his disciple Zou Shouyi 鄒守益 （1491–1562） served as the magistrate of Guangde County （in modern Anhui Province）， he had Zhus Familial Rites， Miscellaneous Ceremonies [杂仪]， and Revised Lüs Village Conventions combined into one book and gave it the title Essentials of Instructing Custom and Rites [谕俗礼要]. He sent the book to Wang for review， and Wang expressed his agreement to his students inheriting Zhus doctrine of ritual and adopting the ritual systems from Zhus Familial Rites and the specific provisions therein. Meanwhile， he stressed that the principle of conducting rites should be kept simple， easy to put into practice and that they should take local conditions into consideration. He regarded these points as being fundamental to promoting Confucian ritual effectively at that time.

However， as far as their doctrinal principles were concerned， there was a major difference between Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming in that Zhus foothold was in his theory of principle， and he defined rites as “the definite regulations of the Heavenly principle and the ritual rules of the human events.” By contrast， Wang set out from his philosophy of the mind， and believed that rites originated from human feelings. To Wang， the origin of universal human feelings was in the original mind and when the ancient sages formulated rites by following human feelings， they essentially made them by following the original mind. Wang saw rites as the manifestations of the original mind and his interpretation of what constitutes the original substance of rites was tinted strongly with the color of his philosophy of the mind， representing his resistance to Zhus definition of rites. In a word， Wang was in alignment with Zhu in the practice of ritual， and their main difference was primarily concerned with the philosophical basis of rites.

Further Expansion of Neo-Confucian Outer Kingliness [57]

Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual， particularly in the way it was put into practice， shaped traditional Chinese values and behavioral patterns extensively and deeply. Bringing order to society and educating the public， Zhu Xis doctrine initiated the reorientation of the ritual movement toward ordinary people in the Ming and Qing dynasties. At the same time， Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual lay at the core of the establishment of a traditional， ritual-based society with a community of culture and organization. Zhu Xis Familial Rites， Revised Lüs Village Conventions， Primary Learning， and What Children Must Know constituted the highest guidelines or meta-paradigms of the community. The interaction of space， time， folk customs， and multiple subjects （including the government， scholar–officials， and ordinary people） brought about diverse variations of rites and customs around the main ideas， thus giving more salience to the importance of Zhus doctrine. The existence of such a ritual-based society with unity in diversity and its close relationship with Zhus doctrine of ritual provide us， to some extent， with a counter proof to the internalization some see as typical of the same period.

Chinese–American scholar James T. C. Liu 劉子健 （1919–1993） put forth his view of internalization with regard to pre-modern Neo-Confucianism in his work China Turning Inward： Intellectual-Political Changes in the Early Twelfth Century， a view which has exerted a strong influence to the present day. In his opinion the early twelfth century was the transitional period from the Northern Song to the Southern Song. In this period the intensified autocratic monarchy， the shrunken political power of scholar–officials， and the failure to carry out political innovation and reform saw Neo-Confucians， as moralistic conservatives， began to internalize their moral conception. It was hoped that this would constrain monarchical power by strengthening the moral cultivation on the part of the monarch and thus realize Confucian political ideals. According to Liu， this turn indicates the change from outer enterprises to pursuing inner self-perfection and self-strengthening. As the mark of this turn， the Cheng–Zhu school “emphasizes the inward-looking side of Confucian ethical thought， the introspective discipline， and internalized moral values within the individual person rather than in the patterns and structures of society and the political order.” However， this opinion not only conflicts with the theoretical pattern of Zhus doctrine of ritual， which attaches importance to both inner sagehood （moral cultivation） and outer kingliness （social order）， but also is contradictory to the fact that a ritual-based society was constructed with Zhus doctrine as its core in Chinas history. With regard to the latter， in particular， Liu based his view solely on a pan-political grand narration that neglected the post–Song expansion of outer kingliness， that is， in addition to the traditional political dimension， there was a new dimension of social governance. According to Meng Wentong 蒙文通 （1894–1968）， “the Han Confucians， when talking about politics， paid more attention to political systems than to social undertakings， but the Song Confucians were to the contrary， for they were earnest and tireless in their pursuit of the way of social moral education.”

As the result of the reform in the Tang and Song dynasties， a series of important changes took place such as the formation of general society， the implementation of the imperial examination system， and the dispersion of government officials. These factors turned the attention of the Song Confucians from specific political affairs to social moral education and organization. However， this by no means directly resulted in their retreating from the pursuit of outer kingliness back to the self-cultivation of inner sagehood. On the contrary， the Song Confucians， on one hand， strove to provide actual politics with a framework highly imbued with moral implications by an argumentation which integrated the metaphysical and the physical， the ordinary and the sage， and the past and the present. On the other， they attempted to bear the responsibility of organizing and improving the rising lower classes of society by transforming rites in a creative manner. Thus， politics and society were the two dimensions of Neo-Confucianism in pursuit of outer kingliness， which， together with its pursuit of inner sagehood， constituted its form of one substance with two functions. Since they were the same in terms of substance as far as their ideals and theories went， none of the Song Confucians aimed at the unification of politics and moral education. Since they were two functions， as far as the actual politics went， politics and society were seen as independent of each other， each with its own nature. In Song， Yuan， Ming， and Qing society， in particular， where the number of scholar–officials grew rapidly yet the opportunities for them to participate directly in politics were rather limited， this dimension of outer kingliness provided a space independent of the dynasties marked by the royal family names to Confucians where they could give full play to their spirit of life.

Thus， both the priority of the Confucian orthodox to the ruling political orthodox， and the independence of the power of intellectuals relative to the royal power each gained their social basis in reality. Compared with the Way transmitted from the ancient sages and the existence of human society， the throne of the Son of Heaven was relative and temporary. No matter whether an individuals destiny was good or bad， whether scholar–officials were cooperative with or antagonistic to the political power， Confucians would face the Way taught by ancient sages and make conscious efforts to inherit it. By practicing Confucian ritual， they could stand firm as subjects of morality and perfect their own moral cultivation， and immediately by naturally extending ethics and rites across human relations， could see them applied to a family， a village， and even the whole country， so as to realize their ideal of outer kingliness， whilst beautifying folk customs out of office. This process was based directly on the theory of good nature （性善）， which could be acted on and penetrate others （感通）， without resorting to the political power of the ruling monarch. Therefore， such a process could be both independent and sustainable. In a nut shell， Neo-Confucianism held that “Inner sagehood sends forth outer kingliness，” and bestowed Confucians with a brand new way of life. Independent from the ruling monarch， they could sustain themselves in a self-governed lower classes of society. For this reason， when the Ming dynasty was about to fall， Gu Yanwu 顧炎武 （1613–1682） summarized the situation and said， “When the exercise of self-government is languid， there could be no strong ruler. Without a strong ruler， the empire would have nothing to stand on firmly. Without standing firmly， the empire would grow rotten inside and be attacked from the outside and eventually end up in collapse.” The strategy he proposed was， in essence， one of constructing a self-governing ritual-based society. Though this plan was not carried out under the autocratic monarchy and repressive rule of the Qing dynasty， it was enough to prove that ritual not only significant for moral self-cultivation but also moral education and governing the world. It is the latter meaning， which implies the dimension of outer kingliness in Neo-Confucianism that proves the theoretical weakness of the view of internalization.

Conclusion [59]

Historically， every new system of ritual and music was created during a period of social transition. When the previous social order collapsed， the resulting space would need to be filled by a new civilization based on ritual and music. Facing up to such a social need， Duke of Zhou， Confucius， Zhu Xi， and others drew on the source of a common human nature and feelings to enable the inheritance of previous means of civilization， modifying it suitably， and instilling into it a new spirit of times， thus preserving the cultural genes of Chinese civilization and meanwhile innovating fresh systems based on ritual and music. These ancient systems were conducted by people while dealing with human relations in their daily life， which involved the various aspects of social life. Thus， in such a system， life and death， and everything from the individual to the family， the state， and the world， all found their proper places. Finally， the order of the entire universe， including heaven， earth， humankind， things， and me， was arranged so well that it could return to the original Way of preserving the great harmony and staying in tune with it. After the late Qing and the Republic of China periods， under the backdrop of intense conflict and interaction between the East and the West and between past and present， China began a new round of social transformation. With deepening self-reflection on the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity， Confucian ritual and the morality and order they imply， calls were raised for reconstructing the cultural subjectivity of Chinese nation， also manifested from an implicit cultural gene to an explicit requirement of the changing times. Under such a new backdrop， as the successful construction of a ritual system historically closest to us， Zhu Xis doctrine of ritual and the Ming and Qing ritual-based society under its deep influence will leave us with far-reaching and profound inspiration.

Bibliography of Cited Translations

Legge， James， trans. The Classic of Rites. http：//ctext.org/liji， accessed February 12， 2020.

Wang， Xiaonong 王曉农 and Zhao Zengtao 赵增韬， trans. Getting to Know Master Zhu： English Translation of Selections from Zhuzi Yulei [《朱子语类》选译]. Beijing： China Social Sciences Press， 2018.

Translated by Wang Xiaonong